Commentary On Margret Atwood's Happy Endings

Commentary On Margret Atwood's Happy Endings . -- David Z. He
Happy Endings” first appears in Atwood’s 1983 collection, Murder in the Dark: Short Fiction and Prose Poems. The story depicts various types of couples, from mediocre to stereotype. It singles out “Happy Ending” for each situation for its own “ruthless and pessimism”. The whole atmosphere in the short story is grey – John & Mary, as well as Fred & Madge may seemed happy but eventually they were still miserable, the whole story is written in a multi-choice form, which allow the reader to choose from A to F. The narration of the story is explicit but strait, with barely any motions, gives the readers a complete objective but cold feeling -- there is no thing as Happy Endings, because ultimately, as Atwood points out, the end matters little. Readers will be more attracted on the middle of the story—where address the reasons. “Love is portrayed as effortless, and is a natural, rewarding, and mutual experience for both individuals involved” (Quoted from: www. Studentcentral.co.uk, Through analysis of “Happy Endings” by Margret Atwoods)

Commentary On the Poem--The Swimmer's Moment

This is a Mid 20th Century Poem which is written by magaret Avison.
Commented by David Z. He
The Swimmer's Moment
Margaret Avison
From: Winter Sun. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962. pp.36
For everyoneThe swimmer's moment at the whirlpool comes,
But many at that moment will not say
"This is the whirlpool, then."By their refusal they are saved
From the black pit, and also from contesting
The deadly rapids, and emerging in
The mysterious, and more ample, further waters.
And so their bland-blank faces turn and turn
Pale and forever on the rim of suction
They will not recognize.
Of those who dare the knowledge
Many are whirled into the ominous centre
That, gaping vertical, seals up
For them an eternal boon of privacy,
So that we turn away from their defeat
With a despair, not for their deaths, but for
Ourselves, who cannot penetrate their secret
Nor even guess at the anonymous breadth
Where one or two have won:
(The silver reaches of the estuary).

Commentary:
Through this poem, the author is making metaphorical comparison between swimming and life. The title itself gives evidence to support this as swimmer’s life could be related to the moment in life when one must choose whether or not to overcome challenge and obstacles, which is whirlpool. It is hard to tell because the metaphors that the author uses could be interpreted differently. “Many are whirled into the ominous centre/That, gaping vertical, seals up.” Through this quote we can prove that many people who encounter hardships tries to overcome them, however, if they don’t have a strong heart, they will not come out of them.
I liked the poem because the significant moment of life is compared to the trivial actions of swimming. This poem gives great consequence to the purpose of the depth of a challenge. It is an inspirational piece that shows us that if you have the courage to succeed, you will
The poem is written in free style with no regular meter nor rhyme scheme.
The description of water makes readers to imagine a picturesque. The words such as “black pit, rim of suction, whirl, anonymous breath, bland-blank faces” make imagery on senses. The poem makes an image of hope among despair.
The exploration at the beginning of Canada’s history relates to this poem greatly. As the early explorers sailed into unknown waters and dreamt about the new world in the despair of the many storms and hardships at sea. They overcame their boredom and succeed in landing on the coast of the New world. The swimmer in this poem has faced the hardships and risks involved in conquering the obstacles. They were faced with unknown challenges and long sea voyages, considering that they rarely left sight of the shore this was an incredible feat of hope and determination where they overcame the obstacles and did not get sucked into the depths of the whirlpool.

By --David Z. He. David Hakim. Molly Kim. Chirtopher Warrent

Response to Outdoor/Sensory Poem -- David Z. He

Poem digested from Christopher Warrent's Blog
Original Poem:
In the Dead of Winter...-By Christopher Warren

As I lay in bed that cold winter’s night;
I look out my window and see the snow;
I dream of the sun’s majestic bright light;
But who weaved this storm,
Not I, I can’t sew;

As I sit there alone, out comes my book;
I dream, summer’s past and the busy air;
I defy my great grief to take a look;
Now the skyline covered, layer upon layer;

I began to sum, I would go outside;
As I opened the door I saw but white;
I was shocked the Weatherman, he had lied;
I stood there watching, never such a sight.
I walked to the lake and to my surprise;

The banks were warmed by a blanket of snow;
It was unfrozen, my mother, all lies;
As I stood there in thought I heard, wind blow;
I walked about, heard the crunch of snow;

And saw the sorry state of the mighty trees;
Suddenly the sight of geese, fly south, GO!
I ne’er realized how I miss the bees;
Few tracks pollute the crispy, new white pack;

White caps of ice float, an uncharted course;
The heavy breeze picks up the natural slack.
Devastating ice, at the mercy of an unchanging source;
As I lay there alone I fell to ground;
The calming breeze made quiet the great noise;
And pondered the way my thoughts were unbound;
T’was as if I had forgotten all sense of poise;

What more can I say of that wonderful bitter;
Oh day of days in the dead of winter;

Commentary:
I think this poem is very detailed-depicted and emotional. First from the title, In the Dead of Winter we could feel the coldness simply from the word “Dead”. Also the writer’s emotion changed from the baffled about whether he should go out or not to delightful when he saw the sight from the river bank. “White caps of ice float, an uncharted course;” this sentences depicted the floating ice with no clear direction, also suggesting that the writer’s current status of mind. Also, there is still some humorous lines existing, for instance, “Suddenly the sight of geese, fly south, GO!”, we could feel that the writer is delightful to be outside despite the coldness. The writer combined the five senses fairly well and depicted the white, frozen and silent river bank, in the end, the writer seems calm and he had forgotten all of his sorrow and the earthborn affair. What more can I say of that wonderful bitter. Oh day of days in the dead of winter.
However, I think that the poem should be more concentrate on the theme: which is the five senses.